The opening scene of _Madre_ (a mother gets a cell phone call from her six year old son whose on vacation with her ex in a foreign country, then the boy says his father left him on the beach...and isn't coming back) is like an introduction to the most exciting conversation ever, and that carries us for awhile until the film runs out of things to say.

The movie does a brilliant job of constructing tension to the point it can be hard to watch at times and you have to force yourself not to turn away. Sadly, however, instead of developing a subtle central character, the director decides to cheat by keeping secrets from us that everyone in the story knows.

Add to that a 90-minute movie in a 2-hour run time and a truly unsatisfying ending, and you end up with a film that often strives to be great but only ends up striving to be good.